Why Is Heart Disease Deadlier for Black Women and Other Women of Color?
One in two Black women will die of heart disease, and they are three-to-four times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, including eclampsia and preeclampsia. Here, Dr. Michelle Albert, President of the Association of Black Cardiologist, recites a self-penned poem titled
Silent Screams, which highlights the social and economic barriers that Black women face when seeking care and prevention of these deadly illnesses.
Visit OWN's
Heart Health page throughout the month of February for vital updates and information about cardiac disease prevention.
Michelle A. Albert, MD MPH, is the President of the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Walter A. Haas-Lucie Stern Endowed Chair in Cardiology and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).